Police made record-breaking arrests over Memorial Day weekend

[V. Barbarino]

URBAN BEACH WEEK
Sports stars among 557 arrested in Beach
Police made record-breaking arrests over Memorial Day weekend in Miami Beach.
By ELAINE DE VALLE
edevalle@MiamiHerald.com

Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas and forward Awvee Storey and Pittsburgh Steelers first-round pick Santonio Holmes were among the nearly 600 people arrested in Miami Beach in connection with Memorial Day festivities as of Sunday morning.

Police said they also confiscated nearly four dozen guns.

About 80 percent of the 557 arrests made between 7 a.m. Thursday and 7 a.m. Sunday were for misdemeanors, like the charge of disobeying police levied at the two basketball players.

Miami Beach police spokesman Robert Hernandez said most of the charges were for disorderly conduct, drinking in public, public drug use or minor possession. There have been more felony arrests, too, for a total of almost twice the 333 arrests for the same time period in 2005.

''We're up by 224 arrests,'' Hernandez said Sunday, crediting the rise to an increase in the number of plainclothes officers mingling with partygoers on the street and in clubs.

About 600 officers are working the weekend, part of a crackdown on disorderly behavior among the thousands who flock to the city for the annual festivities each year and for the celebration of hip-hop music and culture known as Urban Beach Week.

The same number of officers worked last year, but more were in uniform, which Hernandez said may have deterred people from breaking the law -- at least openly.

''Last year was our first year using plain-clothed officers, and we noticed our arrests spike,'' Hernandez said. ``This year, we added more plainclothes.''

Of the felony arrests this weekend, many were for possession of firearms, Hernandez said: ``We had 44 firearms taken off the street.''

But most of the arrests were attributed to minor criminal infractions.

Storey was blocking traffic in the northbound lane of Collins Avenue in the 800 block at about 9:15 p.m. Saturday, according to a police report, when an officer ordered him back on the sidewalk. He refused, and the officer arrested him. The charge: failure to obey a command.

That's when Arenas got out of a nearby vehicle and walked toward the officers, according to his arrest report.

''Hold up, that's my teammate, and I'm going over there,'' the arrest report quoted him as saying. An officer asked him repeatedly to step to the sidewalk, and when he refused, he was arrested and charged with resisting arrest without violence.

Holmes was arrested at 3:30 a.m. Saturday morning.

The arrest report states that the football player was walking in the middle of Collins Avenue in the 900 block obstructing traffic. When police told him to get on the sidewalk, he refused and instead began to yell obscenities.

[Bling]

sometimes i just dont get it...... yr after yr we hear this crap...... hip hop festivals shouldnt have to be about this

all this publicity only further makes memorial day weekend and urban beach week a bad name


in a way this is good news though they had record breakin arrests. the cops are workin hard

[V. Barbarino]

Originally Posted by Bling

sometimes i just dont get it...... yr after yr we hear this crap...... hip hop festivals shouldnt have to be about this

all this publicity only further makes memorial day weekend and urban beach week a bad name


in a way this is good news though they had record breakin arrests. the cops are workin hard

The cops are all racist and corrupt... I blame the Media...

[HouseJunkie]

No - Cooljunkies are the rasict. On every other message board people are all saying good things about Urban Week even on Al Jazeera's message board.

[JMT]

that guy that got stabbed at metro is giving nothing but rave reviews.

[pod]

Originally Posted by HouseJunkie

No - Cooljunkies are the rasict.

What's a rasict?

[Sela V]

Don't worry, guys. The evil hip hoppers will go away, and then you'll have to slag on some other poor unfortunates...

[pod]

I have no issue with hip-hoppers, just with evil hip-hoppers.

[Sela V]

Originally Posted by pod

I have no issue with hip-hoppers, just with evil hip-hoppers.

Well, according to most of the views on this board, most of them are perceived to be evil. And I am pretty sure, a vast majority of the good kids who just came to have a good time and spend some money will go somewhere else, I would. Who needs the hate? As for the assholes who don't know how to act, I wish there was a way to stop them from even getting on the plane to come here! They have helped create a PR nightmare for everyone else. Oh well... At least the beach has been secured again and the infidels banished from the kingdom... A trumpet sounds in the distance, promising a new, hip hop free Miami Beach, or is that a mariachi band cueing up? Hmmmmm... Guess I'll keep it movin'....

[pod]

Probably a mariachi band. I see fat dudes dressed like the Three Amigos downstairs.

Nonetheless, like any large-scale cultural event, it is the minority that ruins it for the majority. Most people were out to have fun, but it's the few morons that make the most noise. Like during conference where there's a bit of a spike in drug arrests.